House and Leisure – August 2019

food traditions in a city that had largely

lost its celebrated bazaars during French

rule and civil war. The market was the

first step in a slow-food movement

that is still gathering pace, and

Mouzawak now oversees a network of

markets, lunchrooms, guesthouses and

community projects around Lebanon.

Among his most popular initiatives

is Tawlet, a canteen off busy Armenia

Street in Mar Mikhael that aims to

bring authentic homecooked meals to

city dwellers. Home cooks from villages

around Lebanon prepare dishes that

express their heritage, on a roster

that changes weekly. The generous

buffet includes a bottomless glass of

homemade lemonade, arak or house

sharab, and a range of savoury and sweet

dishes like mjaddara, a southern dish

of lentils and bulgur topped with fried

onions, or kibbe Zghertewiyye from the

northern village of Zgharta, the minced

lamb and bulgur patty stuffed with

a lump of fat, which melts during frying

and oozes out at the first slice.

Branches of Tawlet have since opened

in Ammiq in the Bekaa Valley, the

historic city of Saida in the south, and

Deir El Qamar in the Chouf mountains.

There’s also a summer pop-up version

at the organic farm Biomass in the

hills of Batroun in northern Lebanon.

Most of these regional canteens have a

guesthouse attached to them. Last year,

Mouzawak’s team opened Beit El Tawlet,

a stylish guesthouse of five rooms on the

fifth floor above the original Tawlet. His

next project? To revive the dekkeneh,

Lebanon’s traditional neighbourhood

grocery store. soukeltayeb.com/tawlet

SEPT

Some of the best day trips from Beirut

aretoregionalwineries–therevival

oftheindustryinthepastfewdecades

hasspawnedmorethan 30 inLebanon.

Myfavouritewinedestinationisthe

biodynamicvineyardandwinerySeptin

theBatrounMountainsnorthofBeirut.

ItswinemakerMaherHarbworks

withvintnersaroundthecountryto

celebratethediverseterroirofLebanon,

usingViogniergrapesgrowninRiyaq,

theindigenousgrapeObeidehgrown

inZahlé,CabernetFrancfromAin

TreizandTempranillofromDeirEl

Qamar.Withhisownwinery’sSyrah

andCabernetSauvignongrowninthe

hillsofNehla,Harbismakingsome

ofLebanon’smostinterestingwines.

levinsept.comO

THIS SPREAD, CLOCKWISEI

FROM TOP

The plethora of dishes servedI

at Baron are a celebrationI

of the area’s distinct foodI

products and wine; designerI

stores and outdoor restaurantsI

line the paved streets ofI

downtown Beirut; bartenderI

Avo mixes drinks behind theI

wood-panelled bar at Anise inI

Mar Mikhael; the lunch buffetI

at Tawlet boasts traditionalI

Lebanese dishes such as wildI

purslane and beetroot salad;I

Hanna Mitri in Mar Mitr offersI

extensive flavours of iceI

cream, including pistachio.I

ADDITIONAL PHOTOGRAPH: RAMY KABALAN/UNSPLASH.COM^